Peaceful Transition of Power and Will of the People Thwarted says Sen. Frostman.

Former President George H.W. Bush died last week at age 94.

MADISON – Late Friday evening former President George H.W. Bush passed away at the age of 94. After hearing the news, Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement:

“I join the nation in recognizing the life and legacy of President George H.W. Bush. In learning of the letter that Bush left for Bill Clinton after the hard fought 1992 presidential election, I was so moved by him telling Clinton that “Your success is now our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.” It is at once both a reminder of how political discourse and campaigns have changed, as well as the way things are supposed to be.”

“I did not agree with many of the policies of the 41st President, including his vote against the 1990 Civil Rights Bill and the racially charged use of the Willie Horton ad. However, when given a choice to serve his country or serve himself, he chose country every time.”

HOWARD - On Nov. 6, voters in 16 Wisconsin counties held advisory referendums on marijuana asking voters if they supported some sort of legalization. The majority of voters — 3 out of 4 — expressed overwhelming support, leaving many wondering what’s going to happen now the issue is in the hands of our state representatives.

Unfortunately, in many races voters failed to elect representatives who shared their support, which leads to the question, how often do legislators vote in accordance with constituent opinion?

A number of scholars have suggested that most Americans have little to no effect over what the government does. In May 2017, John G. Matsusaka of the University of Southern California determined that legislators actually adhered to the will of their constituents only 65 percent of the time.

Furthermore, when the preference of a politician differs from that of his constituency, politicians tend to follow their own interests, beliefs, and ideologies over those of the people they represent.

While 65% is better than the 50% rate of simply flipping a coin when voting, it’s still less than voters deserve.

Whether or not to change marijuana laws is not a partisan thing. Most everyone knows somebody dealing with cancer, chronic pain, glaucoma, PTSD, or other conditions who has used, or wants to use, marijuana as part of their overall treatment.

We must demand state representatives listen to will of the people, refuse to allow this issue to be reduced to a debate over conflicting moral opinions, and change the law.

Podcast covers the bogus GOP lame duck legislative session, Evers’ newly minted healthcare policy advisory council, and more...

STATEWIDE - After debriefing Rebecca’s much needed vacation, we discuss the latest news on the GOP lame duck legislative session scheduled for next week. Contact your state legislators today to voice your opposition to the Republican power grab!

Robert educates us on Evers’ newly minted healthcare policy advisory council, Evers' plan to expand Medicaid, and what we can expect the next Congress to do on healthcare. We also review the recent Amazon deal and throw some love to the Eau Claire City Council for making marijuana possession fines $1.

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Contact your state legislators and tell them the GOP push to change the date of Wisconsin’s presidential primary in 2020 is wrong.

MADISON - I’m outraged by the brazen attempt by Speaker Vos and Majority Leader Fitzgerald to undermine the will of Wisconsin voters.

Especially egregious is their late-inning effort to change the date of Wisconsin’s presidential primary in 2020 so that fewer voters would actually turnout for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. I wrote about that here:

GOP Push to Change Primary Is a Slap at Wisconsin Voters

Please contact your state legislators by calling the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-362-9472 and tell them not to change the date of the presidential primary and for once to put petty politics aside!

If you don’t know your legislators, click here -- opens new window of map of Wisconsin legislative districts where you enter your address in top right search bar.

Here’s another thing you might be interested in: Today, we issued a report, “Record spending by outside groups in 2018,” which garnered a front-page story in the Wisconsin State Journal. You can read that report here:

Record Spending by Outside Groups in 2018

Thanks for looking at our report and for contacting your state legislators.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wisc-leaving-s5.jpgFalse promises and overblown estimates of business expansion have been hallmarks of our Governor Scott Walker for years and now President Trump has taken that tune to new heights. Here is a fact check from a County Commissioner in our neighboring state, Minnesota.

MADISON - This week, Rep. Melissa Sargent (D - Madison) of the Wisconsin Assembly Democrats talks about legislative Republicans putting politics over the people of Wisconsin.

Audio File of Radio Address

Hello, this is State Representative Melissa Sargent with this week’s Democratic Radio Address.

Our democracy is founded on having three separate but equal branches of government. The separation of powers between our legislative, executive, and judicial branches are paramount in protecting the promise of a fair and balanced state government.

This concept is central to the well-being of our democracy.

Despite this, the day after Tony Evers was elected Governor, Republicans expressed a desire to limit executive authority.

Republicans never mentioned a need to reign in the powers of the governor throughout the entire campaign, yet after Scott Walker lost, it became their top priority.

The people of Wisconsin have voted for a change in leadership and in direction.

Sadly, Republicans are choosing to act against the will of the people.

Rather than accepting the results of November’s election and working to collaborate with Governor-elect Evers, Speaker Vos and Majority Leader Fitzgerald are focused on desperate attempts to consolidate power.

Putting politics over the people of Wisconsin is not the way forward.

Wisconsin deserves better.

Thank you.

MILWAUKEE - Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! We thank everyone who attended our Brew Fest fundraiser this week, including speakers Mandela Barnes, Gwen Moore and the Lisa Neubauer, candidate for State Supreme Court in April 2019. We discuss the potential GOP lame duck session in the State Legislature where Republican leaders want to take power away from Tony Evers before he is inaugurated the 45th Governor of Wisconsin. The Walker Administration reveals that it created a $1 billion dollar state deficit that was hidden from voters until after the election. We also bat around Walker’s petty unwillingness to apologize for his false accusations of incompetence in ballot count.

MADISON, WI – Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona) offered the weekly Democratic radio address.

Great wins occurred on pro-democracy referendums.

MADISON - Amidst all the coverage of Tony Evers’s narrow victory over Scott Walker last week, one story got lost: the great wins that occurred on pro-democracy referendums.

By overwhelming margins, citizens in four counties voted against partisan gerrymandering, and citizens in nine communities said they were in favor of amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United. Here are the details:

Pro-Democracy Referendums Pass in Wisconsin, Elsewhere

Another story that didn’t get enough attention was the record amount of outside money that splattered our screens with mud in the lead-up to Election Day. Here’s our list of express advocacy groups, and the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity tops it:

Reported Electioneering Group Spending Tops $36M in Fall Elections

And we continue to expose how big donors have gotten their way, time and time again, at the DNR under Scott Walker. Our most recent posting here was about the Kohlers and their golf course:

Ex-DNR Employee Says Agency Was Pressured to Approve Big Donor’s Golf Course

We’ll be vigilant, over the next six weeks, to watch for any last minute giveaways to donors, and we’ll press ahead with our pro-democracy agenda in the year ahead.

Thanks for all your support!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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